The home team suffered much more than anticipated to overcome Surne Bilbao Basket, but ultimately found the path to a vital victory in the final stretch of the Liga Endesa. Pedro Martínez's squad won 88-83 in a duel that went from seeming completely controlled to becoming an extreme exercise in resilience, character, and competitive personality.
With Jean Montero resting with the Final Four in mind and the debut of Álvaro Cárdenas as one of the afternoon's major novelties, the 'taronja' team achieved an important win to stay in the fight for top positions heading into the playoffs.
The game's start showed a very solid Valencia Basket defensively and tremendously dynamic offensively. After a few initial minutes of equality, the Valencian team began to impose its rhythm from defense, forcing turnovers, running the court, and punishing every visitor error. Omari Moore led the first offensive surge alongside Brancou Badio and Jaime Pradilla, while the 'taronja' intensity resulted in a decisive run that pushed the score to 21-9 by the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter followed the same script. Valencia Basket found open shots with ease, moved the ball quickly, and clearly dominated the game's rhythm. Sergio De Larrea delivered actions of great quality, Matt Costello punished from the perimeter, and Pradilla was immense near the basket. The lead even surpassed twenty points thanks to an accumulated 24-2 run between the end of the first quarter and the start of the second. Bilbao Basket only found some oxygen from three-pointers, especially with Pantzar and Jaworski, although the Valencian team went into halftime with a commanding 47-29 that seemed to seal the win.
Everything changed after the break. Surne Bilbao Basket came out completely transformed and found an unstoppable executor in Justin Jaworski. The visiting shooting guard began to punish from the perimeter with tremendous efficiency and led a devastating 5-26 run that turned the game around. Valencia Basket lost offensive fluidity, got stuck from three-point range, and began to suffer as the Bilbao team reduced the deficit to take the lead. Jaworski finished with 31 points and made the third quarter a true nightmare for the Valencian team, which went from dominating authoritatively to entering the final period with everything wide open.
When the game seemed definitively lost, the competitive pride of Valencia Basket emerged. Kameron Taylor and Braxton Key assumed emotional and sporting leadership in the decisive minutes. Both sustained the team when the offense stalled and when Bilbao threatened to complete the comeback. Taylor contributed defense, points, and game reading, while Key constantly appeared for second-chance opportunities and crucial physical plays. Offensive rebounding ultimately became a fundamental factor in sustaining the 'taronja' team when their outside shooting faltered.
In a back-and-forth exchange with maximum score equality, Nate Reuvers hit the three-pointer that broke Valencia's outside shooting drought and provided some breathing room for Pedro Martínez's team. From there, Valencia Basket raised its defensive level, controlled the rebound better, and intelligently managed the final possessions to secure a hard-fought yet valuable victory.
The win also leaves positive feelings, such as the debut of Álvaro Cárdenas, the team's competitive capacity without Montero, and the collective reaction during one of the most delicate moments of the match.
